21 Facts About Riverdale More Shocking Than the Season Finale

Don’t worry, this is a spoiler free zone…if you’ve caught up through Season 3 of The CW’s Riverdale, all streaming on Netflix! From Veronica’s kiss with Betty, to her stealthily getting in on her parents’ plans for Riverdale, this show is full of on-screen surprises.

There’s so much more that goes on behind the scenes.

1. This is Camila Mendes’s (Veronica) first onscreen role.

CREDIT: @camimendes / Instagram

She was hired the moment she graduated from NYU’s Tisch School for Performing Arts. That’s what you call Latina excellence.

2. And the role is perfect for her. Her words (and mine).

CREDIT: @camimendes / Instagram

She told Glamour Magazine, “This role came along, and it was the perfect fit,” Mendes said. “Everything about it—I had her on the surface of who I am. [I also liked] the fact that she was Latina, and they weren’t trying to push any stereotype on her. She just was Latina, which is how I feel.”

3. Camila Mendes knew Cole Sprouse (Jughead) from school.

CREDIT: @camimendes / Instagram

But Sprouse’s Zac & Cody child star status made him a bit elusive. He admitted that he doesn’t remember her. Open your eyes, maybe?

4. Cole Sprouse is the oldest of the bunch, at 25 years old.

CREDIT: @thecwriverdale / Instagram

Then comes in our bae, Camila Mendes, at 23, Lili Reinhart (Betty) at 21, and KJ Apa (Archie) at just 20 years old.

5. And the whole gang is tight IRL.

CREDIT: @camimendes / Instagram

Caption: “Domino’s Resort 2017 Collection.” The actresses who play Charlotte and Betty actually live together IRL.

6. The whole show is based off Archie’s Double Digest comic book magazines.

CREDIT: @EstateSalesOrg / Twitter

So glad I saved all 100 of them from my childhood. Literally this is what childhood dreams are made of.

7. Camila Mendes knows the Latino-American struggle.

CREDIT: @CamilaMendes / Twitter

She tells People Magazine, “I’m a full-blooded Brazilian, with an entire extended family of Brazilians, but I was born and raised in the U.S. When I go to Brazil, I feel like an American, and in the U.S., I always notice the traits that make me Brazilian.”

8. Though she grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia.

CREDIT: @camimendes / Instagram

She was there until she was 10 years old, when they moved to Brazil for a year, and then spent the rest of her upbringing in Miami. #305pride

9. Each episode title is named after a movie…

CREDIT: Eve Productions

Which is supposed to offer some insight into what happens. Classic Riverdale hiding things in plain sight. The writers select the title after they’ve written the episode

10. And all the sweeping town shots are the same used for Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls and Rosewood in Pretty Little Liars.

CREDIT: @netflixuk / Twitter

The real home base? Lord Byng Secondary School in Vancouver, Canada. Prepare to be disturbed for this next one.

11. KJ Apa is actually a brunette.

CREDIT: “KJ Apa.” Digital Image. PopBuzz. 15 May 2018.

When they bleached his eyebrows to dye them red, they actually burned holes through his skin. #JobRisks

12. Marisol Nichols (Hermione Lodge) played a role on Charmed.

And did she rock that leather outfit or what? She also had a role on Friends as one of Joey’s costars. The drama is real folks.

13. Both Veronica’s on-screen parents are half-Mexican off screen.

CREDIT: @lgbtmndes / Twitter

Her mom, Maria, is from Texas, but she moved to Chicago, which is where Nichols was born. She never met her dad but she thinks he’s Ashkenazi Jewish.

14. Camila says she used Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf as inspo for Veronica.

CREDIT: @brunettespeakin / Twitter

In this show, Latinos are the destination, and we’re here for it.

15. The show itself uses Twin Peaks as its inspiration, according to showrunner Roberto Aguirre Sacasa.

CREDIT: @camilamendes / Twitter

Instead of following the detective after a teen’s death, the show follows people death affects most–the people left behind.

16. You can listen to a few songs by Archie and Josie and the Pussycats on Spotify.

CREDIT: Spotify

Truthfully, they’re not too shabby. Very teen drama and filled with the angst of youth.

17. Sabrina the Teenage Witch lives on the other side of Sweetwater River… AKA Greendale.

CREDIT: @yvrshoots / Twitter

I want to know what else is brewing over there, but the spin-off is happening gusy. I’m trying very hard not to spoil anything for you laggers.

18. In the original comic books, Veronica’s dad is hella old.

CREDIT: Archie Comic Publications Inc.

And he didn’t commit any white collar crimes (that we know of.) We’re so happy they decided to ditch that archaic narrative and go with a Latino-cast family instead.

19. Mark Consuelos (Hiram Lodge), is half Mexican and half Italian.

CREDIT: @am_Chach / Twitter

And much dreamier and suited for a beaut like Hermione. Yes, there are problems with his character on the show, but the greed comes from his OG comic book character.

20. The actor has his own secrets though…

CREDIT: @cosmopolitan / Twitter

He eloped to Vegas with his on-screen love interest, Kelly Ripa, from All My Children. Their on-screen romance landed them a “Hottest Romance” award at the Soap Opera Awards.

21. The women are everything.

CREDIT: @camilamendes / Twitter

This is no secret, but women in every healthy Latino household rule the house. Veronica and Hermione are no exception, no matter what you see happening on the surface.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, do yourself a favor and binge away!